


Switched

by jjokkomi



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Fluff, Jongin being embarassing, M/M, Other, Some Humor, switched at birth - Freeform, the usual
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-07
Updated: 2019-09-07
Packaged: 2020-10-11 12:54:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,275
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20546477
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jjokkomi/pseuds/jjokkomi
Summary: If you would have told Kyungsoo two weeks ago that his brother was switched at birth, he would have called you crazy. But apparently, that's a thing that still happens, according to the Kim's lawyer.





	Switched

**Author's Note:**

  * For [flower_girl](https://archiveofourown.org/users/flower_girl/gifts).

> this was a fic i wrote for the lovely daisy aka @bubblingsoofoam/flowergirl uwu x100!!! so give all the kudos to her for her fun prompt!

Kyungsoo keeps his grip on Minsoo’s hand tight, feeling his stomach start to churn the more his parents argue. If you would have told him two weeks ago he would come home to a limo in the front of his tiny apartment complex, a rich family and their lawyer present, claiming that his little brother wasn’t _his_, he would have thought you were crazy. There was no possible way Minsoo wasn’t his biological brother. Just, no way.

Sure, they don’t look too similar but that didn’t mean anything. Siblings don’t have to look like twins to be related. Minsoo was his brother. There was no question about it. He didn’t care what his mother was trying to explain to him. There was no possible way in this century two babies could have gotten mixed up in the hospital.

Except, when he finally managed to look at this supposed _other_ brother, Kim Jaein, he couldn’t help but feel his world tilt. Jaein is small, way smaller than Minsoo who is the tallest in his class. Jaein’s eyes are wide behind his glasses, a curious glint in them that turns into shyness as he moves to hide behind his brother. What gets him the most is that with his hair combed to swipe gently across his forehead, he looks eerily similar to a picture of him from when he was still an elementary student.

Kyungsoo doesn’t want to admit that the little boy he spends every night reading to isn’t his brother. He doesn’t care, Minsoo is always going to be his little brother, no matter what some DNA test says. It’s been a week since the Kim’s came knocking on their door and a week since they actually did take a DNA sample.

The Kim’s are rich, just from their clothing he knows they’re well off and probably have connections that rushed said DNA test which he knows would take much longer for everyone else. This time they’re at the lawyer’s office, because not only do the Kim’s want their biological son back, they want to keep Jaein on top of it.

“Hyung, can we go outside?” Minsoo whispers to him, so he nods quickly, not knowing why they want a six-year-old present at a meeting like this when its nothing but hostile.

He makes a small motion towards his mom who nods before going back to arguing with Mrs. Kim, who has chosen their lack of money to be the topic today as to why they shouldn’t keep either child. Kyungsoo tries not to get angry with them, knowing that it’s a lot to take in but he can’t help it. His parents aren’t rich, but they always make sure there’s food on the table and that they feel loved.

He leads Minsoo out into the hallway and then down to the lobby area, keeping a tight hold of his hand when they move to sit down on the couch that’s unoccupied. Jaein is sitting next to his brother, Kim Jongin who is busy texting on his phone. When Jaein spots them, he perks up a little bit, waving before putting his hand down and bashfully moving to hide behind Jongin’s arm who grunts and starts to look annoyed.

He avoids eye contact when Jongin looks his way, holding onto Minsoo who chooses to sit in his lap. When he can feel Jongin staring for too long he hesitantly looks up, feeling self-conscious the more the other male’s lips start to turn downwards.

“How old are you?” Jongin questions, putting his phone in his coat pocket and giving him an expectant look.

Kyungsoo fights the urge to ignore him, knowing it’s rude but he doesn’t know a thing about them and doesn’t want to start giving away any information they can use against him. He tightens his grip on Minsoo who makes a protesting noise, wiggling away from him to go look at the fish tank they have on the other side of the room.

“Sixteen,” he answers politely, fidgeting with his hands and putting his focus on his baby brother.

“You’re in high school?” Jongin questions incredulously, making him frown a little and nodding his head, perking up when Minsoo runs back over to him.

“Hyung! It’s Nemo!” he shouts, pointing over towards the fish tank and attempting to drag him along.

Kyungsoo gets up and smiles, letting Minsoo drag him before he stops, turning towards Jaein who has let out a very tiny but stern _‘excuse me.’_

“Can I come too?” Jaein questions quietly, looking at him with those big hopeful eyes before turning towards Jongin who is now frowning. “Please?”

“If its okay with your hyung,” he replies slowly, not sure if he should really be getting close to Jaein since it seems like this legal battle is really going to be happening for a while.

“Mom wouldn’t like it,” Jongin replies, making Jaein look so incredibly _sad_ before he moves to get up, making Jaein immediately start to smile as he hops up and grabs onto Jongin’s hand.

Kyungsoo clears his throat before letting Minsoo continue to drag him towards the fish tank. He stops once he’s close enough to see and Minsoo goes and points out the little clownfish swimming around. He smiles, nodding his head when Minsoo turns to look at him to make sure he’s paying attention.

“What school do you go to?” Jongin questions, making him twitch a little at the suddenness of the question.

Kyungsoo frowns a bit, not wanting to answer but not wanting to ignore him. “Why does it matter?” he questions back, turning towards Jongin and frowning at how he has to look up.

“I’ve never seen you before, but you live close by from what I heard my dad say. I’m just curious,” Jongin explains, making him frown a little more that apparently they know where they live.

When he doesn’t reply Jongin lets out a big sigh, moving in front of him and blocking his view from where Jaein and Minsoo are laughing about one of the bigger fishes trying to eat a rock. He glares a little, not liking Jongin being so close so he moves back, eyeing the other boy wearily.

“I’m assuming you go to public school, because I would have seen you by now. I’m in high school too, just started this year,” Jongin explains, making him nod his head and then move him out of the way.

“Hyung, can we go get food?” Jaein questions Jongin, running up to him and holding onto his leg while looking up at him curiously.

“Sure,” Jongin replies with a shrug, looking over at him before tilting his head. “You wanna come?”

“I’m hungry too!” Minsoo shouts, running up to him and tugging on his arm. “Can we? Please?” he whines, making him feel bad that he has to say no.

“I don’t have any money,” he says quietly to Minsoo who frowns but nods his head, looking sad as he drags himself back towards the fish tank, shoulders slumped.

“I can pay,” Jongin offers, making him immediately uncomfortable.

“No thank you. We’re fine,” he replies plainly, moving to grab Minsoo’s hand and take him to the small courtyard they saw walking in.

Minsoo gets distracted easily so he immediately forgets about food in opt to run around and chase some random squirrels. Kyungsoo watches him for a while before getting up and joining him in looking at a bird’s nest. He turns when he hears noise about fifteen minutes later, watching as Jongin and Jaein walk into the courtyard.

Jaein comes rushing over towards him, a cup of bubble tea in his hands that he shyly tries handing him. Kyungsoo gapes a little, not wanting to be rude but feeling awkward accepting a drink from him. In the end he ends up reaching for it, a confused look bound to be on his face.

“Jongin hyung said you look pretty,” Jaein informs him, making his entire face heat up and Jongin choke on his own drink.

“I did not!” Jongin denies, making Jaein frown before pouting and rushing over towards Minsoo and asking him if he wants to share his brownie with him. Minsoo really shouldn’t accept things from strangers but he thinks with his stomach so is immediately smiling and saying yes.

“I swear I did not, he’s _lying_. I said you looked _thirsty_, not pretty,” Jongin rushes out, looking embarrassed and Kyungsoo feels even more awkward.

“Okay,” he replies uncomfortably, scooting over on the bench when Jongin looks like he wants to sit next to him.

“Not that you’re ugly!” Jongin rushes out, making him turn to watch as he completely freaks out. “You’re not. Not that I’m looking at you. I just mean, like _objectively_ you aren’t ugly. He totally misheard me.”

“I get it,” he interrupts when Jongin looks like he’s going to keep talking. “It’s fine. Thank you for the drink,” he adds on, awkwardly moving to take a sip and handing it over to Minsoo when he spots him with it.

“Taro is my favorite,” Minsoo informs Jongin who looks a little surprised.

“Me too,” Jongin replies, getting a smile from Minsoo before he runs back to go play with Jaein who is watching them curiously. “I thought Jaein was adopted when I was like ten, so this explains a lot,” Jongin shares with him, making him frown a little.

“Why?” he questions, never _once_ having any sort of thoughts that Minsoo wasn’t his real brother.

“He’s just, different. I dunno. Out of all of us he’s always been the different one,” Jongin shares with a little shrug. “We have two noona’s. They’re in college,” he adds on, making him slowly nod his head. “It’s just you and Minsoo, right?”

Kyungsoo frowns a little, nodding his head and shifting uncomfortably at how much Jongin apparently knows about them. He doesn’t really like it, not wanting their entire life to be picked apart because of this. He just wants things to go back to normal, he doesn’t want to think of the possibility of Minsoo getting taken away from them.

“Lucky, it sucks being the middle child. Although I guess technically it’s me and Inhye noona, since there’s four of us. Although, they’re twins so it doesn’t really count.”

“That’s nice,” he dismisses, paying attention to Minsoo and Jaein who are still sharing the brownie and now the small bubble tea Jaein has. Minsoo really does love taro bubble tea so he kind of hogs it which makes him want to get up and scold him.

“Do you have a girlfriend?” Jongin questions him suddenly, making him choke on his drink and start wheezing.

“What?” he questions incredulously, feeling his entire face heat up to his ears. “Why do you want to know that?”

“I don’t know,” Jongin replies, looking awkwardly uncomfortable for someone who directed the question in the first place. “Our classes are separated so I don’t know any girls. Well, I know a couple but they’re annoying.”

“I don’t,” he replies slowly, watching as Jongin’s leg keeping bouncing, which makes him frown a little, looking over at Minsoo.

Minsoo has a _really_ bad attention span and gets twitchy when he’s feeling uncomfortable or has to sit still. When he’s nervous he pulls on his ears and avoids looking at people. Kyungsoo turns to face Jongin and looks at him, not sure how he feels seeing the same nervous ticks on Jongin.

“Don’t take this the wrong way, but you don’t have a good attention span, do you?” he questions, getting a little irritated look from Jongin before he deflates and starts rubbing at his face.

“Is it that obvious? Mom is really anti-medication, so I don’t take anything for it, but I’m vaccinated! So, you can like, kiss me and I wont die, not that I want you to!” he all but shouts, looking absolutely mortified and scaring him a little bit. “Fuck,” he mutters under his breath, getting up and walking over towards Jaein and grabbing his hand, all but dragging him back inside leaving the boy to whine that he wants to play.

Kyungsoo blinks back his surprise, looking over towards Minsoo who sulks his way over towards him and moves to sit by his side.

“Jaein is fun. His hyung is not.”

“Yeah,” he replies slowly, wondering what the other male’s deal is.

\--

Jongin hurriedly makes his way over towards his ride, smiling at their driver Mr. Park before getting in the backseat. Jaein is already sitting in the middle seat eating a small snack and smiling when he spots him. Jongin reaches over and ruffles his hair before closing the door and buckling his belt.

“Where are we going?” he questions the driver once he realizes they haven’t taken the turn to go back home.

“Your mother said they’re having another meeting with the Doh’s.”

“So, the lawyers office, _again_,” he sighs out, shaking his head and looking over at Jaein who looks nervous.

“Are mommy and daddy going to send me away?” Jaein questions, making him frown as he turns to look at the six-year-old, feeling his stomach flip unhappily at how worried he is.

“Of course not,” he denies, not sure if he’s even telling the truth at this point. He doesn’t know _what_ is going to happen, but his parents have been talking to their lawyers daily.

There’s no way in hell they’re going to give up Jaein, no matter the results of the DNA test saying technically, he doesn’t belong to them. They don’t care, but they want Minsoo too and Jongin feels queasy at the thought of them actually winning. He really prays they don’t, if he’s being honest, knowing that if the roles were reversed and Jaein were to get taken away, he’d want to die.

“Can I call Kyungsoo my hyung too?” Jaein questions, making him frown as he turns away, not sure if he likes that idea.

His parents don’t want them getting close to them, his mom doesn’t even want them near each other. It’s inevitable though, considering who knows how long this legal battle may go on for. He likes Kyungsoo though, although he doesn’t talk that much, and mostly ignores him when _he_ talks. Granted, he made a complete ass of himself the other day so that’s warranted.

“If he lets you,” he replies carefully, watching as Jaein sits up a little and looks determined to ask him when they see him.

Jaein is pretty shy and takes a while to warm up to people. So, he’s genuinely surprised at how easily he befriended Minsoo. Jaein doesn’t have that many friends, so he’s honestly glad that Minsoo seems to really enjoy talking to his brother. He wonders if they can sneak off to a café or something while their parents argue. He could really use an after-school snack and Jaein is probably hungry by now.

When they arrive at the familiar waiting room in the lawyer’s office Kyungsoo and Minsoo are already there, still in their own school uniforms. Jongin isn’t snotty, far from it, but he can’t help but think they look, well, old and cheap. He’s almost positive Minsoo is wearing hand-me-downs that belonged to Kyungsoo at some point. They don’t fit him completely because Kyungsoo was probably smaller at his age.

“Can I go ask him now?” Jaein pesters, tugging on his arm and giving him a hopeful look.

Jongin awkwardly nods his head, watching as Jaein runs up to Kyungsoo, tugging on his sleeve to get his attention. He slowly walks closer, wanting to hear what Kyungsoo tells him. From what he’s seen, Kyungsoo is really nice, so he’s not too surprised when the elder blushes but nods his head.

“Can I call you hyung too?” he questions suddenly, making Kyungsoo twitch a little and look at him with a confused furrow of his brows. Jongin flushes, wanting to _die_ when the confusion turns into an uncomfortable awkward silence. “I’m fifteen,” he blurts out, which just makes Kyungsoo back up and makes him want to die. “I’m younger than you, is what I’m saying,” he explains.

“How are _you_ fifteen?” Kyungsoo mutters, eyeing him up and down with a little frown on his face, which has his ears heating up. “I mean, I guess its fine,” he replies a little bit louder, clearing his throat and looking down at Jaein when he grabs his hand.

“Can we get food hyung?” Jaein questions Kyungsoo, the elder looking a little flushed as he bites on his lip.

“I guess,” Kyungsoo replies slowly, getting two excited shouts from Minsoo and Jaein who start to jump up and down. “Your parents wont mind, right?” Kyungsoo questions, making him nearly drop his smile.

“They won’t!” he lies, not wanting to pass up the opportunity to go eat with the two. He smiles as Kyungsoo nods his head and starts to lead the two kids towards the front.

He walks behind them, kind of jealous that Jaein is taking to Kyungsoo so soon. Of course, Kyungsoo _is_ pretty, even if he denied it because Jaein is still too young to know what sort of things he doesn’t want repeated. Kyungsoo is also a really good big brother to Minsoo, who seems like a big ball of energy. It’s weird though, because he can see little similarities to himself.

He really needs to bring a picture or two from when he was around Minsoo’s age, for comparison purposes. He smiles a little when Minsoo turns to look at him before the boy sticks his tongue out at him, surprising him enough that he almost trips. He frowns a bit at the boy, following them into a small bakery, a warm buttery smell hitting him instantly. He smiles, walking up to the counter and looking at all the treats.

“I want two strawberry macarons,” Jaein tells Kyungsoo, pointing them out and giving him an expectant look.

“Can I get a cupcake?” Minsoo questions, tugging on Kyungsoo’s other arm and pouting. “Please?”

“Yeah, um, just go sit at a table okay?” Kyungsoo tells the two before immediately reaching into his pocket and taking out an old looking wallet.

Jongin watches the boys run to snatch a table before moving close to Kyungsoo, frowning a little when he sees he doesn’t have that much money. He clears his throat before giving the worker their orders, getting some extra pastries for himself a couple extra macarons because Jaein loves them.

Before Kyungsoo can even tell him anything he takes out his card, handing it over to the cashier. He waits patiently, flinching a little when Kyungsoo grabs his arm and gives him an irritated look before he shoves some cash at him.

“For Minsoo’s cupcake,” he explains, making him frown a little and pushing the money back to him.

“It’s fine!” Jongin tries to tell him, but getting the money put in his _pocket_, which has him squirming a bit before Kyungsoo goes to sit with the kids.

He flushes, reaching into his pocket to see the money before putting it back so he can grab all their food. He brings it all to the table and gets two cheers from the boys, Kyungsoo sitting next to Minsoo awkwardly and keeping his hands to himself while the two grab what they want. He moves to sit next to Jaein, ruffling his hair before grabbing a pastry for himself.

“Are you not hungry?” he questions Kyungsoo, watching as the elder shakes his head a little and continues to sit.

“Hyung loves macarons. They’re his favorite,” Minsoo shares, making him curiously look over at Kyungsoo who looks like his little brother just committed the ultimate betrayal by telling them that.

“Me too!” Jaein shouts, surprising him when he starts looking extra excited and handing over his box to Kyungsoo. “We can share! I’m a good sharer, right hyung?” Jaein pesters him, tugging on his arm and giving him a look.

“The best,” he replies, watching as Jaein looks at Kyungsoo expectantly and instantly starts smiling when he takes a macaron. “What’s your favorite flavor of macaron?” he questions Kyungsoo, waiting expectantly.

“There’s a bakery close to our house that sells raspberry peach ones,” Kyungsoo replies with a little shrug, clearing his throat before looking away.

“Jaein’s favorite are strawberry,” he shares, getting a tiny nod from Jaein who looks at Kyungsoo before getting distracted by Minsoo who has stuffed the entire cupcake in his mouth and is making a funny face.

“Don’t play with your food,” Kyungsoo sighs out, shaking his head as Minsoo laughs. “_Min_,” Kyungsoo warns when he laughs enough that some cake flies from his mouth.

Minsoo frowns a little before slowly eating his food, Jaein still stifling his laughter. Jongin has to stifle his own laugh when Minsoo coughs a little and more cake falls from his mouth and Kyungsoo looks so _done_ as he gets some on him. He offers him a napkin, getting a small thank you thrown his way before he cleans his arm.

“Mama is going to be mad that we spoiled dinner,” Kyungsoo mutters to himself, earning a little pout from Minsoo who shrugs before reaching over and taking a pastry from him, pausing when he realizes what he’s doing.

“You can have it,” he laughs out, getting smiled at as Minsoo takes a bite and starts kicking his legs happily. “Our mom will probably be mad too. If that makes you feel better,” he says mostly to Kyungsoo who doesn’t reply.

“Mama is making us _dakgaejang_ tonight,” Minsoo shares, looking excited about it.

“Your mommy cooks?” Jaein questions curiously, making him flush when Minsoo gives him a confused look as he nods his head.

“We have a chef,” Jongin explains, getting a weird look from Kyungsoo that looks a lot like he’s judging. “He lives with us in the guest house.”

“What’s that?” Minsoo questions.

Jongin smiles awkwardly, knowing they’re well off but its normal for them. They go to private school with a bunch of other rich kids. No one bats a lash when he tells them what their cook made them for dinner when they ask. Money is never a problem for anyone he knows. If anything, the more money you have the more bragging rights you get. The more popular you are on top of it and well, Jongin is _really_ popular.

“It’s like the people who make your food at a restaurant, but they live with you and make you food at your house,” Kyungsoo explains, getting a confused look from Minsoo.

“Why?”

Kyungsoo shrugs, looking at him with a plain face that has him feeling embarrassed, which is dumb because there’s _nothing_ to be embarrassed about in the first place. Both their parents work full time jobs, if they hire people to clean and cook and watch them while they do that, there’s nothing wrong with it.

“Our mama makes the best dakgaejang,” Minsoo boasts, getting a jealous look from Jaein aimed his way. “You should come over and eat it too.”

“That’s not a good idea Minsoo,” Kyungsoo says gently, getting a pout from Minsoo and from Jaein as well. “Mama only has enough for us,” he explains as best as he can without alerting either kid to how that’s probably never going to happen.

“Maybe another time,” he suggests, getting two nods from the kids while he tries hard not to frown.

He really doubts that their parents will ever be civil enough to let either of them come over to dinner. It sucks. Minsoo is technically his brother and unless something happens legally, he’s going to be spending time getting to know him without their parents knowing, at little moments like this. He wants Jaein to get to know his biological family, even if it scares him that he’ll like them more. It’s not fair for them to try and keep them from each other.

“Our mommy never cooks for us,” Jaein mumbles unhappily, making him frown a little. “She always says she’s busy.”

“She works,” he tries to explain, getting an understanding nod from Kyungsoo before he moves to eat another macaron. “She’s an accountant.”

“What’s that?” Minsoo bugs, looking at him in confusion.

“Um, she does a lot of math,” he replies, not sure if he even knows _what_ she really does. He kind of never asks her what she does at work. He just knows it pays a lot and makes her have crazy hours.

“I hate math,” Minsoo states plainly, making Kyungsoo snort a little. “It’s boring.”

“What do you like then?” he questions, genuinely curious. Jaein loves school and is good at everything except the physical stuff. He’s the complete opposite of him and their sisters who have all been in sports since they were able to walk.

Jaein would rather be inside, reading or drawing, playing house or even doing his homework. He hates the heat and complains every time he has a soccer tournament or one of their sisters had their own sports activities when they were still involved with school sports.

“Recess,” Minsoo answers honestly, making him choke out a laugh at his blunt answer. They are _definitely_ related. “I’m the fastest runner in our class,” he boasts, making Kyungsoo smile at him before he kisses the boy on the cheek.

“I don’t like to run,” Jaein mumbles, looking put out at all the attention being on Minsoo.

“Me neither,” Kyungsoo shares, getting a bright smile aimed his way. “It’s no fun.”

“Yes, it is, you’re just slow,” Minsoo sasses his brother, making him try hard but fail to contain his laughter, which earns him a tiny glare from Kyungsoo.

“I am _not_ slow,” Kyungsoo defends himself, tickling Minsoo’s side and making him squirm.

Jongin looks down when he hears Jaein giggle, glad to see he’s enjoying himself because it’s rare when he can actually see his baby brother enjoying the company of other people. All the playdates their parents set him up on usually end awkwardly and Jaein never looks happy. He looks annoyed half the time.

When he hears his phone let out a chime signaling, he has a notification he takes it out, seeing a message from their dad that they should head back soon before their mom notices. He frowns a little but replies to let him know they’re on their way, turning back towards the others. Minsoo and Jaein are still talking so he waits a little bit before clearing his throat.

“We have to go back, I think they’re finishing up early today,” he informs them, getting identical whines from the boys.

“Can Jaein come over and play?” Minsoo questions, making him frown a little at how excited they look at the prospect that he’s going to have to shoot down entirely.

“Maybe another day,” Kyungsoo replies, grabbing onto Minsoo’s hand and helping him towards the exit.

Jongin does the same with Jaein and trails closely to Kyungsoo and Minsoo. He looks over Kyungsoo, wondering if he should ask him for his number, so Jaein and Minsoo can talk, mostly. He wouldn’t mind texting Kyungsoo, if he would let him that is. He just has to gather the courage to not make a fool out of himself in the process, because he’s too good at that.

He wipes his hands on his pants when they make it back to the lobby in time, Jaein moving to sit next to Minsoo who looks like he has a small tummy ache. Jaein is giving him a comforting pat on the head which has Kyungsoo smiling at the two of them. He has a really, _really_ nice smile.

“Can I have your phone number?” he ends up blurting, making all three males look up at him, which is embarrassing because Minsoo is kind of intimidating for a six-year-old.

Kyungsoo looks weirded out again, which makes him want to _die_, especially when he awkwardly shakes his head no.

“Um, I don’t have a phone,” Kyungsoo explains slowly, making him start to feel embarrassed for just assuming.

“Oh, sorry, I just thought,” he tries to explain but he hears his mother’s voice, so he stops, turning around and seeing her come out of the room with their father, the Doh’s trailing behind them.

He nods his head when she tells them they’re leaving, going over and grabbing a hold of Jaein’s hand. He starts to walk away but Jaein stays rooted in his spot, making him frown as he looks down at him. He doesn’t know how to feel when he realizes Jaein is looking over at Kyungsoo and his family, more particularly, his mom. He gently tugs on his hand to get him moving, watching as he waves by to Minsoo who does the same.

\--

Kyungsoo carefully walks into the kitchen, knowing not to get in his mom’s way when she’s cooking them dinner unless he wants to help. Today he doesn’t really want to help, because he has a test he really should be studying for, but he has a mission. He needs a cell phone, so he can text Jongin but mostly so Jaein and Minsoo can talk. Really, he doesn’t want to talk to Jongin outside of a lawyer’s office waiting room. Even if he’s weirdly cute.

“I was thinking of joining the choir club,” he informs his mom, watching as she turns from the sauce she’s stirring to give him a surprised look. “It’s after school on Tuesdays and Thursdays,” he adds, having actually joined already, but she doesn’t really need to know that yet.

“Minsoo could hang out with me until I’m done, I already checked,” he adds when his mom looks like she’s going to tell him no.

“What about the bus?” she questions with a sigh, making him falter a little bit.

She isn’t the least bit mean or even strict with them, but she knows what they can and can’t afford. He and Minsoo take the school bus and it doesn’t wait for them if they’re the least bit late. Neither of their parents can afford to get off work early just to pick them up. That’s not really the reason he falters though. The choir club _doesn’t_ meet after school, they meet in the mornings. He just, needs an excuse to have real time for Jaein and Minsoo to hang out. If he gets to see Jongin too that’s just because this can’t work without him.

“The city bus, we could get a bus pass and it runs close to the house so we could walk the rest of the way,” he explains, getting a concerned look from his mom.

“And what if you miss the bus? How am I going to know where you’re at?” she interrogates him, but he did his homework beforehand and he knows she’ll say every possible excuse to not agree with it. It’s the only way he can let Jaein spent time with Minsoo though, considering the one time he suggested maybe they have a small playdate his mother shut him down and didn’t talk for the rest of the evening.

“I could get a cell phone,” he suggests, casually as he can so she doesn’t actually think he formed this entire plot just to get one. “That way I could text you when we leave and when we get on the bus, that’s it. I don’t need an actual phone plan, I can help pay for it,” he adds on, knowing they won’t and can’t afford adding a line to their very limited plan. A prepaid phone is all he really needs and they’re cheap. He can do yardwork at Mrs. Jung’s place across the street to pay them back. He already has a plan.

He perks up a little bit when she sighs, hoping it’s a good sign and she’s really contemplating it. He just needs her to think about it and then his dad will give her the final push. He _knows_ it.

“Let me talk to your dad,” she sighs out, making him smile and rush over to give her a hug.

“Thank you, mama,” he comments before giving her a kiss on the cheek and going to go put the laundry in the dryer like she asks.

He goes and messes with the laundry before going back to his and Minsoo’s room. It’s not huge but its enough for them. They have bunk beds and he’s always slept on the top one since Minsoo is scared of heights. The boy is sitting on the floor and playing with his action figures, smiling when he sees him come into the room.

“Hyung, can you be iron man and I’ll be thor?” Minsoo questions, holding up the respective action figures.

“Sure,” he replies, moving to sit down and grabbing ironman.

Minsoo definitely plays with action figures more than he did when he was little, preferring fake cooking sets to army men or superheroes. They’re different in that way, on top of Minsoo loving the outdoors and sports whereas he would rather be inside and not sweating. He never thought it meant much, but Jongin mentioned it before, and it made him think.

His brother actually likes parsley of all things, even though no one else does. It isn’t something that would have bothered him before but now all he can think of is maybe Jongin likes it too. He wants Minsoo to get to know people he’s technically related to. He deserves to have more family, even if he feels scared Minsoo will like them more. He wants to get to know Jaein too, already seeing how curious the boy is about them.

“Do you like playing with Jaein?” he questions, moving iron man around and not really knowing what he’s supposed to be doing.

“He’s fun,” Minsoo replies, nodding his head and making a bunch of action noises with his mouth. “Do you think mama will let me have him over to play?”

Kyungsoo frowns a little, not wanting to crush the poor boys’ dreams. He knows his mom would love to have Jaein over, its really the Kim’s that are so adamant about them not spending any time with Jaein. They aren’t doing a very good job about it though, considering they always have Jongin and Jaein sitting in the lobby area while they talk to their lawyers.

“I don’t know,” he replies honestly, getting a little frown from Minsoo who takes the toy away from him and declares he’s going to ask if he can play with some clay instead.

Kyungsoo lets him go, lingering around the kitchen when he hears his dad is home. He doesn’t mean to snoop but when he hears his mom discussing the phone, he kind of wants to know what they’re saying. When Minsoo interrupts he goes back to their room, sitting on his bed and waiting a bit before he hears his mom call for dinner.

He goes and helps Minsoo wash his hands before helping set up the table. His mom serves everyone and then they start to eat. Of course, everything she makes is delicious, it always is. His grandparents owned a small restaurant when they were younger, and his mom always helped out. It closed once it became too much to run for them, but her cooking talents never go to waste on them. She always makes such good food, no matter what little she has to work with.

He helps Minsoo grab his cup of juice and listens to his dad talk about work. He doesn’t have a great job, but it has stable hours and stable pay. He even gets to do over time on the weekend and although Kyungsoo hates not being able to spend time with him, he knows they need the money. It makes him feel guilty again when they tell him he can get a phone that he volunteers to earn the money first, getting a proud look from his dad that eases the guilt a bit.

He’s doing this for Minsoo and Jaein, he reminds himself, not knowing how much longer the legal battles will continue but knowing he has to make sure he spends as much time with them as he can.

\--

Jongin tiredly leans against the couch in the lawyers waiting area, trying his hardest not to fall asleep. School has been kicking his butt with all the random pop quizzes getting them ready for their mid semester exams. Its exhausting and a lot of work on top of his extracurricular activities he parents force him to be involved in. Jaein is quietly doing a cross word puzzle next to him as their parents wait for the Doh’s so they can go argue for several hours per usual.

When he hears Minsoo’s familiar voice he opens his eyes, spotting the Doh’s and their lawyer walking in. He feels embarrassed when his mom starts making a huge deal about them being five minutes late, avoiding eye contact with Kyungsoo when he sees how irritated he looks.

After all the adults are in the office and it’s just them, he awkwardly clears his throat, getting a curious look from Kyungsoo when he walks up to them.

“Um sorry about my mom. She’s normally nice,” he apologizes, not wanting Kyungsoo to think she’s like that all the time. He loves his mom, she can just be a bit too much sometimes when it comes to getting her way.

“It’s okay,” Kyungsoo replies, giving him a small smile before clearing his own throat and reaching into his backpack.

They must have just come from school again because they have their uniforms on. Jaein is already asking Minsoo if he wants to color with him, the two taking up the space at the rectangular coffee table.

“I have a phone now, so you can give me your number,” Kyungsoo informs him, showing off a small flip phone that he hasn’t seen since he got his first phone around three years ago. He doesn’t judge though, just excitedly nods his head and take it when Kyungsoo prompts him.

“I can’t text a lot, but um, if you want maybe we could get ice cream after school?” Kyungsoo suggests, making him nearly drop the phone in surprise, excited over the thought.

“Of course!” he all but shouts, getting a weirded out look from Kyungsoo, yet again.

“Minsoo really likes playing with Jaein,” Kyungsoo adds on, making him realize that of course he would have to bring Jaein along. Duh. He’s stupid. Why would Kyungsoo want his number to talk to _him_.

“Yeah, I can tell,” he replies, smiling as he moves to sit on the couch with Kyungsoo, keeping a comfortable enough space in between them as they watch the boys. “Jaein looks like your dad,” he adds on, having seen the Doh’s enough now to see their features on his little brother.

“You think?” Kyungsoo questions, tilting his head cutely as he looks over at the kids.

“Yeah,” he replies before quickly looking away when Kyungsoo turns towards him. “Oh!” he shouts, remembering he brought baby pictures of Jaein along with him to show Kyungsoo.

“I brought some of his baby pictures and well, some of mine in case you wanted to compare with Minsoo. Not that you have to. I know its kind of weird, but I think he looks like I did when I was an awkward five-year-old and my mom didn’t let me cut my hair,” he rushes out, taking his wallet out and handing over the small pictures he was able to sneak.

“You had long hair?” Kyungsoo questions, eyeing him up and down and do nothing for his self esteem when he giggles at him before taking the pictures.

“It wasn’t my choice I know I looked ugly,” he sulks, having gotten teased when it was that long by all the other boys in his grade.

“It’s cute,” Kyungsoo comments quietly, making him nearly choke on air. Kyungsoo must not have meant to say it out loud because he immediately starts looking red in the face and he has to awkwardly change the subject.

“Jaein was a really tiny baby,” he shares, having been old enough to remember them bringing him home.

He cried a lot and Jongin remembers not really caring for being woken up in the middle of the night. He still adored _finally_ having a brother though, having spent several years with two older sisters that made him do too many tea parties. Although he liked the biscuits and didn’t mind the nail painting. Especially when they used the stickers with it.

“Minsoo was chunky,” Kyungsoo shares with a laugh, biting his lip and looking over at his brother with a smile. “I could never hold him without sitting down.”

“Probably because you’re small,” he replies, getting a little frown thrown his way making him feel like a whole idiot.

“Maybe you’re just too tall,” Kyungsoo huffs before shoving him lightly on the arm and making him want to smile like an idiot. Although he’s already an idiot, so maybe just smile. “I can bring pictures of Minsoo next time we see each other.”

“When would that be?” he questions, wondering if now that Kyungsoo has a phone they can meet up during the week when their parents are still busy with work. Their driver could take them, and he would just have to explain where they’re going and how their parents can’t know. He’s nice, so he’d understand.

“Um, mama thinks the choir club has after school practices,” Kyungsoo shares, surprising him because he didn’t think the elder was one to lie to his parents. “They kind of _don’t_. So um, Tuesday and Thursdays. I have to text her when we get on the city bus though.”

“The city bus?” he questions in horror, having heard some really creepy stories from his friends about those buses.

“Yeah, it’s the only way we would be able to get home,” Kyungsoo explains, making him immediately shake his head.

“No. We can pick you up. Mr. Park is nice and wouldn’t mind. Really, please let us pick you two up,” he all but begs, already knowing Kyungsoo isn’t keen on accepting anything from him if it involves money.

“I don’t know,” Kyungsoo replies slowly, looking uncertain so Jongin takes out his phone and shows him a picture of their driver. He’s basically their baby sitter for when they get out of school because he takes them home and then stays until his parents get off work.

“He’s really nice and would lecture me for hours if I told him you two were taking the bus. _Please_,” he emphasizes, watching as Kyungsoo bites his lip before slowly agreeing and nodding his head.

“Okay, thank you Jongin,” Kyungsoo replies, giving him another friendly smile that makes his brain short circuit.

“No problem,” he tries to get out over his voice cracking embarrassingly enough that Kyungsoo has to hold in a laugh as he turns away from him. “I’m gonna go see if there’s a vending machine in this building and think about how embarrassed I am.”

“Have fun with that,” Kyungsoo replies with a snort, getting up when Jaein drags him towards his coloring book and asking if he can draw them a dinosaur.

Jongin pats his cheeks as he goes in search of some snacks.

\--

Kyungsoo patiently waits outside of the school and keeps an eye out for the black car Mr. Park, along with Jaein and Jongin are in. He feels a little bad about lying to his mom, but this is actually better than taking Jaein on the city bus. He’s been on it before and it’s not entirely enjoyable so he’s glad he gets to skip out on that and actually spend the next two hours with Jaein and Jongin at the park near their house. It’s been about a week or so since he’s gotten Jongin’s number and they’ve actually snuck in a few phone calls with Jaein and Minsoo when neither of their parents are home and met up twice before. It’s been fun just getting to know one another and he’s glad its been a positive experience for the two boys who don’t really seem to care about their accidental switch up.

It’s one of the best things about them being kids he supposes. They’re resilient and make the best out of any situation they’re given. It’s taken a while to completely get a good meet up spot set and a good time frame that still gives Mr. Park enough time to pick them up and then eventually drop them off at their house. They really don’t live that far from one another and it’s a little surreal to him that all this time, his biological brother was growing up just twenty minutes away from him in a fancy house that apparently has four bathrooms.

When he spots the car, he starts walking towards it, seeing Jongin getting out and opening up the door for him, which is nice enough that he has to fight down a blush from appearing on his cheeks that he doubts isn’t visible. He smiles and says hello to Mr. Park who has seen them enough over the past month or so the legal stuff has been going on.

It’s kind of worrisome because he doesn’t know how much longer his dad can do ridiculous amounts of overtime to even afford their lawyer who probably isn’t cheap. Kyungsoo has been too scared to ask about it and does his best to try and not ask his parents for anything these days.

He gets in and helps Minsoo into the booster seat Jongin somehow managed to get, he really isn’t sure but doesn’t question it before he gets in the front with Mr. Park after Jongin insists. He looks back at the two kids and smiles as he listens to them talk about their day. It’s almost a little too routine now that they have been seeing one another on a weekly basis.

Once they get to the park they have to chase after Minsoo and Jaein who are racing to get to the swings. Kyungsoo feels completely out of breath and realizes he really _is_ slow when Jongin is just standing there waiting for him to catch up. He tries not to act like he’s dying when he finally catches up, inhaling deeply and trying to even out his breathing.

“Minsoo was right, you are slow,” Jongin teases him, making him glare a little but he’s too out of breath to argue.

“I’m your _hyung_, you should be polite,” he scolds once he’s managed to find a bench close enough to the boys so he can watch them swing.

“You’re only a year older, doesn’t really count.”

“You’re the one that asked to call me hyung,” he retaliates, watching as Jongin starts looking embarrassed and ready to start talking nonsense. “Please don’t start blabbering because you lose me halfway through your first run on sentence.”

“I was just going to ask if you wanted some chips I brought,” Jongin replies, taking out the bag he brought with actual food.

“You brought food?” he questions excitedly, figuring they would have gotten something to eat on the way home or at a little stand later but then again, he’s never seen Jongin with actual cash on him. He has a debit card.

“Of course, I figured they would be hungry,” Jongin explains, calling the boys over and then they get to have a mini picnic.

It’s probably the most relaxing things he’s done in a long time, with school and the few little jobs he’s done for the elderly neighbors for some money to help with his parent’s finances. Spending time with Jongin and Jaein is almost comforting in a way, no stress or worries when it’s just the four of them and they can just forget about the looming legal situation going on with all of them. He thinks there is going to be a decision soon, and he’s scared. He overheard his parents settling on something the other night and he’s worried it’s not going to end well.

He hopes it does though, because he wants to continue seeing Jaein and _Jongin_, who has really grown on him more than he would like. He’s a giant dork, once you get passed him not being able to sit still for more than a minute. Kyungsoo likes him, maybe a bit more than he should because he’s technically supposed to the enemy in this situation, but it’s never felt like that.

When it’s time to go home he’s a little sad but knows they’ll get to see each other inevitably again. However, when his mom and dad get home and call them into the living room, he feels his stomach start to feel queasy, unsure of what they’re going to tell him. He waits for the inevitable decision, wanting to cry when he gets told that from now on, Jaein and Minsoo are going to be able to visit each other no strings attached. That there was no way either set of parents was going to force a child away from their own lives and that, they would be seeing the Kim’s a lot more often.

Kyungsoo gladly replies to the text from Jongin asking if he wants to see a movie on Saturday, now that they don’t have to sneak behind their parents backs. He happily says yes.


End file.
